This blog replaces the earlier archives I had posted on the Internet and includes various memos sent to the clients of the VitaminLawyer.com (now the Vitamin Consultancy). It includes archived copies of memos from 2004 through 2007 and subsequent memos will be posted as they are issued.

I’ve worked with G. P. Nehra, Esq. regarding nutrient MLM issues and consider him a leading attorney in that world. The report from his office, below, is being shared with his permission. The five specific legal requirements coming into effect on 11.01.08 are being integrated into the Standard Operating Procedures Manual format maintained by the Vitamin Lawyer.com Consultancy. Regular retainer clients will automatically receive the updates. Others should email me with “SOP Update” in the subject line; there is a ½ hour fee for this service.

Vitamin Lawyer.com Consultancy fees are increasing due to continuing dollar value declines. The new basic fee, starting September 1, 2008, will be $325/hr. Prepaid clients will receive the balance of their time at the original rates. Regular monthly retainer clients will be charged at $275/hr. and will continue to be permitted to use the Vitamin Lawyer Oversight Seal: http:// tinyurl. com/2cfoyb

[Please note: all URL web page links in this email are incomplete, with the “http://” and/or “www.” removed and an extra space before the .com or .org, to avoid this message being treated as “spam” by AOL or other services.]

The Law Firm has had several inquiries about the announced November 1 effective date for compliance with new tighter data security requirements… [under] the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act…

…[B]ecause of the way the rules affect the payment card industry, their impact covers a much broader segment, virtually all of the commercial world. … The biggest merchant account customers have long since been complying with the strictures of this Industry program as a condition of their using their payment card merchant accounts. Now it is time for smaller merchant users …

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?

If you have or want to have a merchant account which enables you to accept and process payments from your customers or distributors by credit or debit card, you will need to do the following:

1. Establish a written policy for protecting the security of your customer (and employee) account data. The policy must include designation of employees responsible for carrying out the internal monitoring and security check procedures.

2. Determine what your merchant level will be. (based on number of expected transactions, i.e., Level 4 is 0-20,000 , Level 3 is 20,000-1 million, etc.). By accessing the web site at www. pcicomplianceguide .org you can get information and a chart to help make this determination, as well as other guidance that will tell you way more than you ever wanted to know about complying with the Payment Card Industry Data Security System.

It is certainly the “Doldrums of Summer…” -- there were some continuing “glitches” since the last updates, but we now expect the Web Ring sign-up page to go live during early September. I will send you all a special link for The Vitamin Lawyer.com Consultancy clients and contacts. I know you will want to sign-up for this important new Internet feature.

You can get a sneak preview at: http:// healthcare-aware .com (for the Web Ring) and www .advancedhealthwiki .com (for the Wiki). In previous issues of this Update eMemo I discussed the powerful search engine value of the Web Ring. In the near future I will be providing you with a detailed explanation about how the Web Ring can help your Online presence. I’ve been working on this project since last November, as some of you know. The wait will be worth it!

Here is what one Web Ring company says about the benefits:

“WebRing offers a unique and effective means of searching, locating and navigating between web sites with similar themes. WebRing allows web site owners to group their sites together into ring communities, and provides a navigation tool that links web sites together called a NavBar. Linked sites not only eliminate the necessity of repetitive searches, but the NavBar also accumulates hits from all of the sites so that a hit to one site is a hit to all sites. Additionally, the NavBar acts as a link so your web site is linked to every other site in the community. So now your site is benefiting from higher search engine results because it has more hits and more links.”

The Vitamin Lawyer .com Consultancy offers standardized formats for various Standard Operating Procedures – for companies in the nutritional and natural products industry, as well as for advanced health care “CAM” practitioners. The Professional Practice Record Keeping SOP describes record keeping standards for the practitioner who provides nutrients and natural remedies to his or her clients.

You can see a list of the topics covered by the SOP at: http:// tinyurl. com/2eu6yj

If you would like a copy of the Professional Practice SOP, please send me an email with “PP-SOP” in the subject line; I charge ½ hour for this service. The SOP is being revised to reflect the new Data Security requirement of “a written policy for protecting the security of your customer…”

About Me

The Vitamin Conslutancy - www.vitaminconsultancy.com -- I practiced law for 36 years in NJ (1971 - 2006), gaining a reputation as The Vitamin Lawyer, representing people in the Natural Products, Dietary Supplements and CAM (Complementary and Alternative Modalities) fields. Now I provide educational services and I consult with lawyers and other professionals, formulators, manufacturers and purveyors of natural and nutritional products, as well as with CAM enterprises and practitioners.
I started these blogs to comment on health and freedom issues and to provide an archive of information for my clients and associates. This is a private expressive association communication.
I have been a trustee of several NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) including the Natural Solutions Foundation - globalhealthfreedom.org - Institute for Health Research - inhere.org - Sound Health Research Institute - soundhealthresearch.org and LifeSpirit Church - lifespirit.org